Wild GM Bill Guerin thinks playoff run still possible, but could change course if struggles continue

Bill Guerin still expects the Wild to battle for a playoff spot.

He made it clear this team must be given a chance to compete when healthy, and the general manager/president of hockey operations believes in that team.

"I know people are going to say I'm crazy," he said. "But I do."

But if the Wild continue to struggle, Guerin acknowledged it's possible his focus at the NHL trade deadline could be on the future and acquiring draft picks.

"I don't think I can sit here right now and say, 'If it goes sideways, we're going to do X, Y and Z,'" Guerin said. "But we could."

That would be a change for the Wild.

Since he took over in 2019, Guerin has typically added players before the trade deadline. In 2021, Guerin swapped Greg Pateryn for Ian Cole. Marc-Andre Fleury, Jake Middleton and Nic Deslauriers arrived in 2022, and then last year the Wild brought in Marcus Johansson, Gustav Nyquist, Oskar Sundqvist and John Klingberg.

But the Wild haven't slumped like this during Guerin's tenure.

Even after shedding their four-game losing streak with just their second win in their last 10 by shutting out the Islanders on Monday in a victory that made Fleury the second-winningest goaltender in NHL history, the Wild sat six points shy of the final wild-card seed in the Western Conference. They also don't have any games at-hand on their closest competition.

Through 43 games, the Wild are 18-20-5 with 41 points.

A year ago, they had 54 points (25-14-4).

"It seems that we've lost our way a bit," Guerin said before Monday's game at Xcel Energy Center while describing the first half as "crazy" with the Wild starting so poorly, firing Dean Evason, and rebounding under new coach John Hynes while getting skewered by injuries.

And they're still not at full strength.

Jonas Brodin returned on Monday after a thumb injury cost him 17 games, but captain Jared Spurgeon remains sidelined with a lower-body injury. The defenseman is on long-term injured reserve, and Guerin expected to have an update on Spurgeon's status at the end of the week.

"Even with the injuries, we need to play better," Guerin said.

When the Wild started 11-3 under Hynes, their defense fueled their offense because they effectively exited their own zone and that led to fast-paced, net-focused pressure.

But during their recent struggles, they've lost that predictability.

"The inconsistencies are a concern because the guys know the game," Guerin said. "They know what our game is. They know what our identity is and when we don't play it each and every night or on a consistent basis, yeah, it gets concerning."

Guerin hasn't addressed the team, instead preferring Hynes be the voice the players hear as Hynes settles into his role.

During their recent four-game skid, more than half of the 21 goals the Wild were tagged for came off odd-man rushes after east-west plays fizzled in the neutral zone or "forechecks where we don't get stops and we don't have someone backing up another guy," Hynes said.

"That was easy offense. You're not going to win regularly when you're giving up easy offense that way."

The Wild have six more games before the break to start another turnaround, and then they'll have 14 after the All-Star Game leading up to the trade deadline on March 8.

"We do have a lot of hockey to be played, but we don't have time to waste," Guerin said. "We don't have games to waste. We don't have time to waste. That's the reality of it."

If the Wild are still on the fringe of the playoff picture and Guerin decides to shop for draft picks, his options are limited.

Most of this roster is under contract, and many have trade protections in their contracts.

Asked if he felt boxed-in and that this roster had run its course, Guerin said, "No. I do think it's a fair question, though. Going forward, we are going to need players, anyway, and I like the guys that we have here. I still believe in them."

Wild players have the rest of the season, particularly the next month-and-a-half, to show Guerin was right to have that confidence in them.

"We're definitely not ready to wave the white flag or anything like that," Guerin said. "We just want to get healthy and move forward and see what we can do."